Cape Town - With less than a week to go before the May 29 elections, thousands of RISE Mzansi supporters marched to the Western Cape Legislature yesterday to demand better service delivery across the metro.
The march was led by Axolile Notywala, RISE Mzansi’s Western Cape premier candidate, and national leader Songezo Zibi, who urged his supporters to vote for the party.
Zibi denied the march was an electioneering tactic and that it was their final push to garner support in the Western Cape.
He said they have been hosting marches across the country and there is nothing special about the Western Cape.
“It’s no different from Nelson Mandela Bay. What do I mean by that? There are a lot of people who are unemployed. There are a lot of people that live in shacks, without access to basic services.
“The Western Cape is not really a special focus for us in that way. We’re highlighting the same issues across all the metros and in other cities. And I think we do need to be quite strident and say that we’re not treating the Western Cape as a special case,” said Zibi.
Nkosikhona Swaartbooi, co-ordinator of the march, said they organised the gathering to follow up on the memorandum they sent to the Western Cape government in April.
“The province hasn’t yet responded to those demands. We are calling on them to take accountability and improve service delivery in the province,” said Swaartbooi.
RISE Mzansi also said the march was for the Western Cape candidates for the Legislature and the National Assembly to publicly sign its People’s Contract ahead of the elections.
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde’s spokesperson, Regan Thaw, said they have no comment about RISE Mzansi’s march.
The party was founded in April 2023 and is led by Zibi, a former newspaper editor and co-founder of the Rivonia Circle think tank.
zolani.sinxo@inl.co.za
Cape Argus